Abstract
A major breakthrough in cancer treatment was ushered in by the development of immune checkpoint blockade therapy such as anti-CTLA4 antibody and anti-PD-1 and anti-programmed cell death-ligand 1 antibodies that are now approved for use in an increasing number of malignancies. Despite the relative success of immune checkpoint inhibitors with certain tumor types, many patients still fail to respond to such therapies, and the field is actively trying to understand the mechanisms of resistance, intrinsic or acquired, to immune checkpoint blockade. Herein, we discuss the roles that somatic genomic mutations in oncogenic pathways play in immune editing, as well as some of the current approaches toward improving response to immunotherapy.